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Nathan Smith
Pamela Reed
RHET 1311
1 November 2015
Get Money Out of Politics
Figure 1(page 5) is a picture of very patriotic activists trying to communicate an
important message to all Arkansans and all American citizens. Its from an article titled,
A Recap: Rally At The Arkansas State Capitol In Support Of A Ballot Initiative To
Overturn Citizens United. It was taken in May of this year on the porch of the Arkansas
State Capital where Arkansas Democracy Coalition hosted a gathering to protest the
growing influence of money in politics and rally support for a proposed state ballot
initiative.
Local and national activist groups were present, along with a few different news
broadcasters. I was also there. News reporters and a small audience were addressed
about the issue in several speeches.
They portrayed big money in politics as a threat to the democratic process and
called for a U.S. constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Courts 2010
decision in Citizens United v. FEC. They spoke of writing a state ballot initiative (which
is now approved and gathering signatures) which would give Arkansas voters a chance to
decide if they want to limit the influence of money in state elections.
The message in this picture is that we need to overturn the Citizens United v. FEC
Supreme Court decision from 2010, because it is corrupting our democracy. The decision
reversed a century of campaign finance law and gave corporations, unions, and other

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organizations the right to free speech, allowing them to spend unlimited amounts of
money to finance elections. This is a huge change to the political culture of the U.S., and
most Americans agree: its a change for the worse. (Public Citizen)
These activists have been working very hard trying to get their message across.
Since 2010, there has been poll after poll concluding U.S. citizens overwhelmingly
support overturning the Supreme Courts decision. Big corporations have been fighting
to prevent that from happening, but 16 states have already adopted legislation limiting the
power of money in elections at the state level. Theyve also given official support for a
U.S. constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision. (Public Citizen)
The picture uses red, white, and blue. Anyone just glancing at the picture will
know its about our country. This use of pathos gets viewers attention.
There are a few different signs being displayed in this picture. The first one on
the left says: Arkansas Democracy Coalition, Join Us!, and provides the organizations
website and Facebook page. The ARDC is a diverse group of national and local activist
organizations working together to get money out of politics. (Arkansas Democracy
Coalition) This sign supports the positive vibe of inclusiveness present at the capitol that
day.
The middle sign says: ENOUGH, Corporations are NOT people, Money is NOT
speech. This sign communicates anger, frustration, and a readiness for change. It
implies that Corporations are being treated legally as a person and that the average
citizens voice cannot be heard without access to large amounts of money.
The first sign on the right says: Democracy is not for sale. This sign implies the
group believes that we are losing representative democracy. Elected representatives are

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no longer answering to their constituents but catering to the interests of the donor class of
the rich and powerful. Theres also another lone sign that states in bold lettering:
Corporations are not people.
The American flag sign states: MOVE TO AMEND.ORG End Corporate
Personhood and has a different corporations logo for every star on our American flag.
The website name for MTA coalition is perfect for the goal of the people in this picture.
It is an imperative sentence provoking action to learn about the issue. The company
logos on the flag really sum up how many in the U.S. feel right now about our
democracy. Some even feel that the rich have such a tight grip on our political process
that their votes dont even matter.
These signs are being directed at the news media present that day. They wanted
as many people as possible to see their signs and think about the issue at hand.
This picture was successful in getting people interested in the controversial
Supreme Court case because it was in the news for a few days. Some Arkansans
probably didnt even know what the case was about until they heard about this gathering
on the news.
Through this analysis Ive learned more about the groups represented here and
how they are fighting to reduce the influence of the rich with their special interests on the
democratic process. We no longer have a representative democracy - a democracy that
acts on the behalf of and is responsive to the people themselves. Right now our
government is catering to the rich and powerful and not the average citizen. (U.S. News)
Paul Spencer, my former high school teacher and founder and chairman of
ARDC, organized this gathering and spoke at the podium. He is also the founder and

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chairman of the activist group Regnant Populus, which means the people rule. This is
also our state motto (Ware). We need to honor that motto and overturn the Citizens
United ruling.

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Fig. 1 On May 19, 2015, members of Arkansas Democracy coalition and other national
and local activist groups convened at the Arkansas State Capital calling for a
constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court ruling
from 2010. (Google images)

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Works Cited
Wheelan, Charles. "It's Official: In America, Affluence Equals Influence." U.S.News.com.
N.p., n.d. Web. Oct. 2015.
Arkansas Democracy Coalition . www.ardc.us. October 2015.
Public Citizen. Democracy Is for People.org. October 2015.
Susan Page. usatoday30.usatoday.com. 15 August 2012. October 2015.
Ware, David. www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net. 21 March 2008.
October 2015.

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Feedback
Helpful feedback from Leslie, Claire, Chris, and Nghia brought to my
attention grammatical errors, bibliography erros, and lack of persuasion
strategies.